Just what has happened to the much-anticipated Battlestar Galactica pilot, Blood & Chrome, and what does its absence mean for the future of BSG...?
Published on Nov 30, 2011

Back when the plug was pulled on Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica, there was the solace for BSG fans of a new series in development. This, too, would be set before the days of Battlestar Galactica, would be entitled Blood & Chrome, and would apparently be a bit more action-packed than Caprica. Thatís, presumably, partly in response to the fact that one of the key criticisms of Caprica was that it was too dense, too concerned with backstory, and that not enough happened (as it turned out, not an entirely fair criticism).

Blood & Chrome was first announced as a web series, back in the summer of 2010. That was at a point when Caprica was still live and kicking. The original plan was to make nine or ten episodes, of ten minutes each in length, to premiere online. The focus of Blood & Chrome would be on a young William Adama, and his adventures during the first Cylon War.

Michael Taylor, co-executive producer on the remodelled Battlestar Galactica television series, was hired to write scripts for Blood & Chrome, and the idea was to shoot the episodes using virtual sets, based on the long-dismantled BSG sets that were digitally scanned before being taken apart. ďWeíre not going to be shying away from R-rated blood and guts and sexĒ, Taylor told the Chicago Tribune at the time.

Fast forward to October of 2010, and the news got better. Not only was Blood & Chrome pressing ahead, but Syfy had now ordered a full TV movie pilot off the back of the script work that Taylor had undertaken. There was a fairly strong hint, too, that a brand new spin-off television series might follow.

The announcement that Caprica was cancelled came in the same month, but that didnít seem to dampen Syfyís enthusiasm for Blood & Chrome. If anything, it might have contributed to the decision to upgrade it to TV. Itís hardly going out on a limb to suggest that Syfy would have liked Caprica to run for several years, and to replicate the success of BSG, but if that wasnít going to happen, then perhaps Blood & Chrome would be a safer bet.

The pilot for Blood & Chrome, then, went before the cameras earlier this year. Filming began on the two-hour pilot in February 2011, and itís fairly safe to assume that it was in the can a few weeks afterwards. Appreciating that there would be some sizeable post-production work, Blood & Chromeís TV movie should, realistically, have been finished by now, or as near as dammit.

So where is it, and whatís happened? As it turns out, those are good questions.

The basics first. Weíve yet to hear that Syfy has scheduled Blood & Chrome for airing, nor have we caught word of preview screening reports. As things stand, we couldnít tell you when to expect to see it.

However, back in August, AOL TV reported that Syfy, having viewed an early cut of the TV movie (albeit one without most of the visual effects in place), was now considering reverting the show back to a web series.

Unsurprisingly, this hasnít been viewed as a good sign. Appreciating that the plan seemed to be to treat the TV movie as a pilot of sorts, that does of course mean that Ė as with many pilots Ė thereís no guarantee that it will be screened. But itís discouraging that it appears to be giving Syfy cold feet.

The AOL report quotes Mark Stern, Syfyís executive vice president of original programming, as saying that there was still the possibility that Blood & Chrome might be aired as a Ďbackdoor pilotí, but conclusions drawn from the piece were not generally that positive.

Since then? Pretty much radio silence.

The most recent report came from Airlock Alpha last week, which itself commented on the fact that the show hadnít appeared. Noting the official line that the show ďhas been hampered by post-production problemsĒ, it casts doubt on that. So much so that itís spoken to Doug Drexler, who is doing effects work on the show, and the site reports that the ďspecial effects for Blood & Chrome are not only done, but they look amazingĒ.

And yet the show is still firmly off the radar.

The suspicion is that, for one reason or another, Syfy is reluctant to proceed. This may be down to quality or budget reasons, although given the criticisms aimed at the reality-slant of Syfyís original programming mix, it may simply be that the show doesnít fit the direction of the channel any more. Thatís idle speculation on our part, certainly, but thereís little sign of Blood & Chrome seeing the light of day in the immediate future.

Perhaps weíll hear more about it in 2012. But you have to wonder: are BSGís days on the small screen numbered? At least until the Bryan Singer-directed movie presses ahead?

B & C sounds like it's not ready for prime time; it may have great FX (at least according to the guy who makes them; as if he's going to badmouth his own work), but it sounds like it was underwhelming to say the least...

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At least until the Bryan Singer-directed movie presses ahead?

This has as much chance of happening as a unicorn jumping out of my a$$, sprouting wings and breaking the sound barrier...
Bryan Singer's still rattling the same, rusty cage he's rattled off and on since 2001...

I do agree this bodes very poorly for Blood and Chrome. Though with that said, Syfy clearly wouldn't know good television from a hole in the ground at this point, so a part of me wonders if the fact they don't like it might be a good sign.

I do agree this bodes very poorly for Blood and Chrome. Though with that said, Syfy clearly wouldn't know good television from a hole in the ground at this point, so a part of me wonders if the fact they don't like it might be a good sign.

But that's probably over-optimistic of me.

My gut feeling is that they screened it and that every exec in the room probably let out an involuntary gasp of disappointment...

We'll probably see it (someday) online or straight-to-dvd (ala "The Plan"). But I seriously doubt it'll make it to a full series....

If they are not going to air then they should get it right out on DVD. At the very least it would recoup production costs. If sales for the product end up being great then it could be resurrected into some sort of regular production be it web-based or on See-Fee channel.

If they are not going to air then they should get it right out on DVD. At the very least it would recoup production costs. If sales for the product end up being great then it could be resurrected into some sort of regular production be it web-based or on See-Fee channel.

Agreed.
I think it could be a modest hit on direct-to-dvd, especially for a BSG fanbase that is ravenous for anything new on BSG (no matter the quality, they know we hardcore BSG fans will buy it).

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It's bad for ScyFy because they've announced it and done the rounds at conventions. Now the fans are waiting for it and they might have a lemon on their hands.

Oddly enough, with the exception of the Richard Hatch (annual) BSG panel, I heard surprisingly little buzz about B&C (even at the off-site SyFy booth, there was no footage, nothing). I think they made a stink bomb, and now they're trying to quietly bury it in the backyard. But really; this kind of sudden interest in quality control from the network that gave the world "Sharktopus" ?!? Out of character to say the least...

It's hard to believe that it's so bad that they're afraid to let us fans even see it. Maybe the whole 'virtual set' idea really blew up in their face....

Seems that SyFy has some issues - all the way to the core. The "who's who" running the place can't agree on anything it would seem.

Seems that they can't even agree on what kind of network they want to be; they have stuff that just doesn't belong on a 'scifi (SyFy)' network; paranormal ghost shows, wrestling, etc. They need new leadership (with a name change) and a clear mission statement.

Seems that they can't even agree on what kind of network they want to be; they have stuff that just doesn't belong on a 'scifi (SyFy)' network; paranormal ghost shows, wrestling, etc. They need new leadership (with a name change) and a clear mission statement.

Paranormal content doesn't seem too bad. The glory days of Sci Fi in the UK had all sorts of stuff from paranormal, to oddities, to fantasy as well as sci fi. It made a nce mix. Especially their cult horror stuff.

WWE's managed to annoy me this year thanks to a rather snooty email. If only TNA would take off. They'd at least acknowledge the link to the channel a little more strongly.

Although I never was too hot on some of the aspects of B&C (especially the sad looking Cylons & not picking up the actor from Razor to play Adama) I was looking forward to more action set in the First Cylon War.

I will agree with what was voiced here by a few that the SCIFI channel has really went off the rails with their programming base. Some of the CRAP that they show just boggles the mind and that they have completely gotten away from their roots and need to return to them.

However, if they aren't going to go into production with B&C for TV I do hope they will go to video sales as I think there is a large enough BSG fanbase out there that will still purchase it.

Although I never was too hot on some of the aspects of B&C (especially the sad looking Cylons & not picking up the actor from Razor to play Adama) I was looking forward to more action set in the First Cylon War.

I will agree with what was voiced here by a few that the SCIFI channel has really went off the rails with their programming base. Some of the CRAP that they show just boggles the mind and that they have completely gotten away from their roots and need to return to them.

However, if they aren't going to go into production with B&C for TV I do hope they will go to video sales as I think there is a large enough BSG fanbase out there that will still purchase it.

Actually B&C principal photography wrapped almost a year ago; they're still tinkering with it (a bad sign, in my book).
And I agree; a one-off direct-to-video movie might be the way to go for this one. Judging from Caprica's pi$$ poor ratings (even BSG's ratings were never really what one would call a hit), I just don't think the audience is there to justify a full series order...